After the Two Suns Set
by Runt Thunderbelch
Summary: Luke, Biggs, Fixer and Tank cruise the dusty streets of Anchorhead, searching for love, excitement, liquor and the meaning to life.  Takes place just before Episode IV, A New Hope.   Now complete.
1. Baba Qwim's

After the Two Suns Set

By

Runt Thunderbelch

Chapter One: Baba Qwim's

"Luke! Luke Skywalker!" In the last light of Tatooine's second setting sun, Tank Sunber had just jumped off a boulder and was waving his arms frantically. "Luke, over here!"

Luke guided his landspeeder over and pulled up. Tank scooped up the body of his tiny gyrowheel in one hand and the wheel itself in the other. Luke laughed, "What happened to you?"

"Ah, my vertical strut snapped." He set the two broken pieces into the back of the landspeeder and climbed in beside Luke.

"I told you, you're too big for a gyrowheel. You need a speeder."

"I'm too poor for anything bigger than a gyrowheel."

"If you're broke, why are you going to Anchorhead?"

"I didn't say I was broke; I said I was poor. I have enough to get drunk and cause some major trouble."

"Yeee haaa!" Luke tromped on the accelerator while Tank cranked up the landspeeder's polyphonic system. Wild rhythms pounded out as they slipped onto the salt flats which led to the city.

As they sped along, Tank yelled over the pounding music, "Have you heard anything from Biggs?"

Luke got that far-away look in his eyes. "Naw. I guess the Academy is still keeping him pretty busy." Luke and Tank had been planning on going to the Imperial Academy along with Biggs, but Luke's uncle had kept him here on Tatooine for another season, and Tank had flunked the entrance exam. "You ever get the feeling you're imprisoned on this chunk of rock?"

Tank nodded. "Nothing here but heat, sand, salt, grit, and Tuskin raiders."

"I hate the heat," Luke began, and Tank quickly joined in, "I hate the sand. I hate the salt. I hate the grit. And I hate the Tuskin raiders!" They broke into laughter. (It was either laugh or cry.)

At Anchorhead's edge, they were stopped at a roadblock. Tank turned down the music.

"Where are you kids going?" asked the sandtrooper.

"To the Archives, sir. We have an assignment for school."

"Archives are already closed. It's Friday night."

Luke didn't even blink. "We know. We're staying at my uncle's place tonight so we can get an early start tomorrow."

The sandtrooper wasn't buying any of this. "What's his comm number?" When Luke rattled one off, the sandtrooper punched it in.

"Yeah?" came the hollow response.

"Good evening, this is Trooper Faff at the Route 2 roadblock. We have two adolescent males in a speeder here. The driver claims to be your nephew."

"Luke, yeah, he's my nephew. Is the other one a big ugly guy, most likely with a broken down gyrowheel in the back seat? What have they been up to?"

"Nothing that we know of, sir. We're just making sure they aren't coming into town to cause trouble."

"Naw, we're expecting them. Let 'em through will you? My wife's starting to drive me crazy."

"Yes sir. Sorry to bother you." He waived Luck and Tank on ahead. "Okay. Move along."

Luke accelerated. Tank cranked the tunes back up. They skimmed into town and drove to Baba Qwim's, a barbeque joint at the Y-shaped intersection of Dofos, Route 2, and Sunlight Avenue. The landspeeder bounced in and then slid neatly into a parking spot.

Fixer Loneozner was outside waiting for them, a triumphant grin wider than the galaxy on his face. "So, how's my favorite nephew?" he asked coming over to the speeder. He glanced in the backseat, "Tank, did you break this thing again?"

"Hit a blasted rock," grumbled Tank.

A fist-sized hover droid had floated out of Baba Qwim's and now projected a holo of the menu.

Fixer tossed the wheel over onto the gyrowheel's body and climbed into the back of the landspeeder. "Leave it out behind Tosche Station. I'll get to it tomorrow, if I can. Tank, you really need a speeder."

"What I really need is a million trugats."

Luke said, "What I really need is a Famine Crusher, large tuberspices, and a medium Quencher."

The hover droid chittered.

"We eatin' here?"

"Sure. Then we'll cruise the delta lookin' for women."

Fixer shook his head. "I already got me a woman, and she's dragging me to her koochoo school dance. You guys want to come?"

Tank shook his head. "I never want to see the inside of that penitentiary again."

Fixer crooned, "Hot high-school women, all willing to drool over a man who's already graduated."

"Chaperones. No alcohol. So spare me." Tank studied the menu. "Give me three flamewraps, a double-ice Quencher, and Luke, can I have some of your tuberspices?"

"No way."

"Then give me some regular-sized barbequed skins."

The hover droid chittered again.

"What do you want, Fixer?"

"I'd better not. Camie's is on her way here now, so we'll probably get something to eat at the dance."

"MMmmMMMmmm. Cafeteria food."

"Kiss my foot. Hey Tank, you want to make some money?"

Tank turned around warily.

"Drive my hoverbike back to Tosche Station and then bring Jabba the Hutt's sandslider back here. I'll pay you seventy-five trugats."

Luke said, "Now you're working on Jabba the Hutt's stuff?"

"Hey, I'm the Fixer. -–But don't even think of putting a scratch in the paint. Jabba's not the forgiving type."

"Not tonight," replied Tank. "Me and Luke are going women hunting. We're going to bag us a couple of she-devils!"

Fixer dug out four twenty-trugat coins and wafted them as if they were bantha steaks. "Seventy-five trugats."

"Make it eighty, and only if Luke says it's okay with him."

"It's okay with me, Tank. I'm in the shade."

Fixer grinned. "Eighty it is." He handed over the quartet of coins and the two sets of keys. He turned at the sound of a landspeeder chiming. "Oh, someone save my sorry, sorry soul!"

Camie with her oh-too-cute button nose was driving into the parking lot. From the backseat of her landspeeder grinned Windy and Deak.

"Oh look Fixer, you're babysitting."

"Camie!" Fixer climbed out of Luke's landspeeder and headed over.

"We're just giving them a ride to the dance. They have dates waiting for them there."

"With women?"

"Tonight!" sang Windy, "there'll be flames of passion, heartbeats crashin', love lights flashin, we'll do something rash and . . . dangerous! Tonight! My love, tooo-niiiight!"

Fixer climbed in beside Camie and moaned, "Shoot him, please?"

She accelerated away.

The food hovered out on top of a couple of zipdiscs. When they gathered in the food, the zipdisks dashed back into Baba Qwim's.

Luke took a bite of his Famine Crusher. "Tank, do you think we'll ever get off of this lousy planet?"

Tank was dribbling sauce on his skins. "Sure, your uncle promised you can go to the Academy after next season, and I have my ap in for the army. They're bound to take me."

"But you're a pilot!"

"Eh, I'm too big to be a pilot. I should be slugging it out on the ground. Oooh, cool song!" He twisted the volume up even louder. "Juke, jiggle and jump!" he sang. "Juke, jiggle and jump! Juke, jiggle . . . jiggle and jump! Juke, jiggle and jump!"

Luke took another bite of his Famine Crusher.

Tank was chewing on a flamewrap. "We'll reel in a couple of bad women tonight, eh Luke? That Fixer's so blasted lucky to have a girl like Camie - pretty as a sunset and sweeter than bottlejar sap. No more hunting for him, just a quick comm-call and zip she's in his arms. I think she's way too smart for him, but she seems to like him; so hey, what do I know?"

Luke chewed on his Famine Crusher, regretting horribly the one time he had kissed Camie. Okay, it had been she who had kissed him, but he hadn't stopped her. He still remembered how good she had felt in his arms and how soft her lips were. He remembered the lavender scent of her hair. She drove him crazy when she and Fixer rode in his back seat with the wind flipping her short skirt up and down, teasing him with flickering glimpses of her tan legs. At times, he longed for a second kiss from her, but she was his friend's girl. He needed to keep his hands off. He needed to keep his thoughts to himself.

When they finished eating, Tank went looking for Fixer's hoverbike. He found it at the end of the row, mounted it, started the engine, rose up into the air and scooted off down Route 2 towards Tosche Station.

As Luke reached to start the ignition, the passenger door swung open, and who slipped into the seat beside him but Biggs Darklighter. His best friend wasn't in his Academy uniform but instead was wearing civilian clothes. "Don't ask questions, Luke. Just get me out of here as fast as you can," said Biggs, his dark eyes searching for danger.


	2. Impure Thoughts

Chapter 2: Impure Thoughts

Two streets away from the school, the pounding music from the school dance could be heard. (The neighbors must have loved it.)

Camie found a parking spot on a nearby street. Then she, Fixer, Windy and Deak climbed out and followed the sound of the music. "Say that you love me," screamed the lyrics of the song. "Say that you love me. Say that you love me. Don't care if it's true."

The double-domed gymnasium stood out majestically against the last glow of the sunset. Because of its twin pourstone domes, students had nicknamed the gym: "Boob Hall." Its big doors were open, letting light and rhythm pour out into the schoolyard.

"There are your dates," said Camie to Windy and Deak.

"Where?"

"By the drinking fountain."

"What? There? Those slum sows?"

"Hey, you asked me to get you women. I got you women."

"Women, in name only!"

"Windom Starkiller!" snapped Camie. "You two show those girls a good time tonight, or so help me, I'll never do you another favor again, ever! If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure they will be far more disappointed in you than you are in them!"

"Approaching planet Omega Oinkie II," mumbled Deak as he and Windy obediently stumbled forward. "Oink, oink, oink."

The two girls saw the boys coming at looked startled. They began whispering desperately back and forth.

Fixer, standing beside Camie, said, "Look. It's love at first sight. Ain't it grand?"

"Shut up, Fixer."

Inside, the music was slamming. Kids were jumping up and down like kangaroaches on hot sheetstone. The entertainment committee had gone all out and had hired a live band. The group may not have been all that good, but they were ear-shatteringly loud.

"Come on!" shouted Camie into the sonic maelstrom. She grabbed Fixer's hand and dragged him into the writhing melee.

"Say that you love me," shouted the lead singer. "Say that you love me. Say that you love me. Don't care if it's true! Say that you love me. Say that you love me. Don't care if you doooooooo!"

"Whoooo!" screamed Camie, jumping up and down and clapping with the rest of the kids.

"Thank you, thank you. We'd like to slow things a little now, with a ballad written by our very own, Rezz Krayt."

Rezz had turned down his narlargon to its lowest volume. The semi-circular jet organ began emitting a bitter-sweet wail. "If I never saw you again," he sang, "I'd always remember you when . . ."

Fixer took Camie in his arms, held her close, and they began swaying to the seductive rhythm.

Fixer was one of those guys who were all bones and angles. Holding him was like holding onto a Dagobah spiketree. Plus, he perpetually smelled of lubricant. This wasn't his fault. He'd shower and scrub, but lubricants he constantly had to work with buried themselves deep into his pours, and after a few hours, they'd begin to slowly vaporize.

The guy Camie really like to slow dance with was Tank. The big lug would fold himself around her as if he were a flexible mountain which made her feel tiny and protected. His massive muscles were as hard as her nipples.

Once, when the two of them had been driving passed Mirage Lake, she saw that a recent flash flood and filled the dry lakebed with water. Camie had pulled her landspeeder over, yanked off her clothes and had gone skinny dipping. It took Tank (who wasn't the brightest star in the sky) a few moments to figure out he was supposed to take off his clothes and join her. When he finally came splashing in, the sight of him took her breath away. His shoulders were broad enough for any two guys, and his torso was a washboard of perfectly tuned muscles. If he'd have suggested it, she'd have given him her virginity right then and there. But poor Tank, he really was not the brightest star in the sky.

Luke Skywalker was adorable, with his sun-bleached hair, his eyes bluer than the skies after a spring shower, and cheeks as smooth and soft as a girl's. His innocence made every girl she knew want to adopt him. She often remembered the one time she had kissed him. At first, he had stiffened in mute panic, but then she had felt something deep and primordial awaken within him, like a Krayt dragon rousing from hibernation. The feeling was both thrilling and frightening. For a moment, she feared he might try to rape her, his passion was that wild and that uncontrollable. But then the gentle Luke everyone knew was back, looking a little embarrassed because his hands were gripping her butt. He had released her and had never let the situation repeat itself.

Their other friend, Biggs, was a pig. The one time they had been alone together, he'd come up behind her and had grabbed her chest. What did he think was going to happen next – that she would turn around, rip off her clothes, and shout, "Take me, Big Boy!" What a pathetic loser. He may be rich, but he had all the charm and allure of a Hutt in heat.

Fixer murmured in her ear. "A trugat for your thoughts."

She shook her head, buried her face deeper into his shoulder and kept dancing.


	3. Doin' the Delta

Chapter 3: Doin' the Delta

Luke Skywalker, with Biggs beside him, pulled out into the crowded traffic on Sunlight Avenue. Teens were cruising the delta in landspeeders, octowheels, sandsliders, humpbacks, trikes, hoverbikes, pentas, minicrawlers, galaxies, gyrowheels, stubtrucks, pop-ups, hoopcruisers, solar-slicers, and even a few farm carts. The idea was to see and to be seen. If you were somebody, you were doing the delta on Friday night: up Sunlight Avenue, then over on Grand and back down Dofos to Sunlight. Boys and girls flirting, laughing, drinking (if they could get it) and listening to wild music.

"Hello my darlings," cooed the silky voice of Outrageous Ulala from out of the landspeeder's polyphonic system. "It's another smoldering evening here on Tatooine, and I hope you have someone to hold because I sure don't. Oooh, if one of you young studs were here with me, what good times we could have. Oh yeah, such good times." The dashboards of all the vehicles doing the delta began pulsing with the primordial beat of _Good Times_: "Good times with your lips on mine. I didn't know that you were lyin'. I heard your words, and I bought your line. Now I'm alone, broken-hearted and cryin'. Thinkin' of those good times. Oh yeah, those good times."

Biggs was grinning. "Man, I've missed that woman."

"Before she arrived, I heard this world was an ice planet," laughed Luke. "So, why aren't you wearing your uniform? If you were in uniform, you could walk into any liquor store in town and buy whatever you want, no questions asked."

"Luke!" came the plaintive wail of a group of girls in a solar-slicer cruising the other way. "Luuuuuuuuuke!"

Luke gave them a wave.

Biggs drew back into himself and got very quiet. "I tried to tell my dad, but I ended up just lying to him. And I have to tell someone, or I'll explode." His dark eyes were hollow and haunted. "At the Academy, I sometimes attended meetings of an informal discussion group. We'd talk about ways to make the Empire better. Now that I look back, I can see how some of the subjects could be considered to be subversive, but it certainly didn't seem that way at the time. We just wanted to make the lives of everyone better."

"Luuuuuuuuuke!" screamed another passing girl.

A second girl shouted, "Look! Look! It's Biggs! Biggs is back! Stop, stop, stop!" When the galaxy she was in didn't stop, she flung open the door and jumped out, rolling as she hit the pourstone. She leaped up and began dodging through traffic.

"Xanxan! Look out! What are you doing?" screamed Biggs. He turned to Luke. "Get out of here, quick!"

Luke pointed at the river of traffic oozing on before them. "How?"

"Okay then," Biggs signed. "Might as well pull over." He pointed at an empty length of curb, and Luke guided his speeder into it. They stopped but with the engine still pulsing.

Xanxan ricocheted of the nose of a hoverbike, jumped up on the curb and hurried over to Biggs. "I thought I'd never see you again. I _love_ your new moustache!" she gushed. "But why haven't you called me?" She gathered up his fist and pressed his knuckled into her cleavage.

Luke discretely looked away.

"I just got in," lied Biggs.

"We're on our way to a party as Tok's. You have to come!"

"Luke's driving me to see my parents. Mom's kinda sick."

"Ooooh, I hope she's better real soon," sympathized Xanxan, but then she brightened. "But she'll need her rest, so you'll have to leave early. Then you can come by Tok's. The party will go on all night long and probably most of tomorrow. We could only get a couple of kegs, though, and so come soon before it's all gone!"  
>"If I can. You know parents."<p>

She ground his knuckles deep within her cleavage. "And you know what I have waiting for you. So I'll expect to see you there before we tap the second keg." She kissed his hand, returned it to him and began looking around for her ride.

Biggs slapped Luke and pointed to an opening in traffic. The landspeeder shot away from the curb.

"So what's wrong with Xanxan?"

Biggs shook his head. "Nothing's wrong with her. But I need to talk to you."

An octowheel drove by the other way, sounding its chimes. The windows on the street side were open, and a half a dozen naked buttocks hung out.

"Okay, so you wanted to make people's lives better?"

"Well, there was this nasty virus going around, and a couple of us ended up in sick bay for several days. When we got out, we went to the next meeting, but nobody was there. The whole group had simply disappeared. They weren't in their classes; they weren't in the dorms. We heard rumors that some of them had been arrested, but at first, we didn't believe that. Then it seemed likely that, well, maybe they'd been discovered and had gotten detention."

Biggs took a deep breath. "I was at this party, and one of the girls had gotten really drunk. Not take-advantage-of-her drunk but really destroyed. And she went on this crying jag. I've never seen anything like it, sobs from the very depths of her soul. When I could finally understand what she was saying, she told me how she'd been assigned to a firing squad, and how she'd been ordered to shoot all the students in the discussion group. Shoot them! Just for talking! I couldn't believe it."

Luke turned right onto Grand.

Biggs continued, "Then at end of term, we went out on mock maneuvers, you know, to get practical experience. Except they weren't mock maneuver. One of the nearby planet's had sent a petition to the Emperor asking that he respect their historical rights under their Treaty of Unification. So we cadets were ordered to go on a bombing run on their capital city."

"Did you?" asked Luke. "Did you follow orders?"

Biggs's chin was nearly on his chest already but he managed to nod. "But no more. Never again. Remember when we used to say we'd join up with the Empire and go out and kick the tails of rebels? Well, we had it all wrong. The Imperials are the bad guys; it's the rebels who are the good guys. So I'm jumping ship. My parents need to know, but I haven't got the guts to tell them. Once I'm gone, will you tell them for me?"

Luke thought about this for a long time. "No. They need to hear it from you. So I'll deliver the letter to them that you will write."

Biggs nodded. "Thanks, pal. I knew I could count on you. Hey, don't think badly of me, huh?"

Luke shook his head. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what to think."


	4. Tosche Station

Chapter 4: Tosche Station

Tank Sunber, on Fixer Loneozner's hoverbike, raced towards Tosche Station on the outskirts of Anchorhead. Even though Fixer's hoverbike wasn't very big, it was the height of luxury when compared to Tank's gyrowheel. On its audiobox, Outrageous Ulala was promising to do obscene things to his body as she segued into another tune.

Maybe Tank should save his money to buy a hoverbike? Naw, his acceptance into the Imperial Army should be coming through any day now, and then he'd be off this dead-end planet for good.

"Look out!" screamed the girl as she jumped to one side.

The nose of the hoverbike struck her foot, sending her spinning one way and the bike scuttling the other way. When the repulsors tilted so far they lost traction, the bike coughed over onto its side and scraped along through the gravel. Tank cursed, bounced off solar collector, and rolled to a stop.

"Why don't you look where you're going?" whimpered the girl as she staggered upright. She was favoring one foot.

Tank had risen up to his knees. He brushed grit and blood of his tunic and surveyed himself for any major damage. "Are you hurt?"

"You just plowed into me on your koochoo hoverbike! Of course I'm hurt!"

"Here, let me see." He began to come over.

"I'm not letting you see anything. Pick up your bike and take me to a doctor."

His powerful hands sat her down on a metal railing, and he immobilized her leg by simply grasping it while he ran expert, gentle fingers along her injured ankle. "You don't need a doctor. It's just bruise and a minor twist. I'll take you back into Anchorhead, so we can get you a cryo-wrap. Try not to put your weight on it for the rest of the night, and you should be almost as good as new in the morning."

She sneered, "You're a doctor?"

Tank shook his head. "Just an ex-high-school athlete who's used to getting banged up a lot. You'll be fine." He pointed to Tosche Station. "That's where I'm headed. You're in luck. I'm here to bring a sandslider back to Anchorhead, and so you'll be able to travel in style."

"Sandslider or not, I want a doctor."

Tank checked to see if the bike was damaged (just some scraped paint and a few pieces of gravel driven into the foot rest), then he mounted it, started her up, and levitated over to the girl.

"Come on. Get on."

"No chance. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Tank heaved a sigh. "Look, you can't walk on that ankle, and you're outside the city wall after dark. What if you run into some sandpeople?"

"They're not going to come in this close."

"Are you willing to bet your life on that? Your life? Now, you can get on the bike, or you can walk over there to Tosche Station."

The girl tested her ankle, winced, and capitulated. "Okay, I'll get on." She threw one leg over the bike behind him.

Tank said, "Put your arms around me."

"Just start out easy, and I'll be fine." She gripped the back of the two-person seat.

"My name's Janek Sunber, but everybody calls me 'Tank'. What do I call you?"

She hesitated. "Pia."

"Fine." He started forward. They drove in silence over to Tosche station, a bunker-like pourstone building with its iron shutters rolled down. Naked light bulbs on high, scattered posts cast sharp shadows. Its mournful, laconic architecture said _go away!_

Tank left the hoverbike on idle, stepped off the bike, and went over to the big rolldoor. He'd just bent over the lock, when Pia screamed!

Two sandpeople were charging in fast, each armed with a gaffi stick, the Tusken raiders' weapon of choice. About as long as a crowbar, one end was pointed and had a starburst of axe blades. The other end was curved, weighted, and pointed so that it could be used to trip, to club or to stab.

Pia had scrambled off the bike and was retreating back towards Tank. The sandpeople wouldn't stop and steal the bike, Tank knew; it was took high-tech for their primordial brains to operate. Theirs was a hunt-and-kill raid.

He hurried forward, putting his huge bulk between the Tusken raiders and Pia. The lead one came rushing at him, swinging the axe-bladed end of its gaffi stick. Tank remembered the self-defense training he'd received in P.E. class and stepped inside the swing. The weak blow from the body of the stick hit him on the shoulder.

Tank grabbed the gaffi stick and wrestled the Tusken raider for it. He pushed the creature away, and then tried to fling it aside, but it hung on. He ended up lifting its feet off the ground as he swung it around. About a moment later, the Tusken raider lost its grip and flew yowling passed its on-rushing companion.

This one tried to stab Tank using the tip of its gaffi stick, but Tank's stick knocked the thrust away. Then he took a swipe with the hooked end, trying to catch the creature's leg, but the sandman jumped back. The creature growled or maybe it was saying something in it guttural language, and it charged again.

Tank sidestepped and lunged at its chest with the tip of his gaffi. The Tusken raider dodged, but the point jabbed it in the thigh. The creature yowled in agony.

The first sandman came rushing back, and Tank backhanded it with his club. It staggered back, but it was still quick enough to catch its falling companion.

The two sandpeople scrambled back up to their feet and limped away as fast as they could, taking frequent glances over their shoulders to make sure Tank wasn't following.

"Sweet mercy, that was great!" gushed Pia. "Where did you learn to fight like that? Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Her hands were all over him, examining him for wounds.

"Naw, they never touched me. I played four year of bashball against a dozen guys, all who were at least twice as big as those guys. They're lucky I was gentle with them."

"You were wonderful, Tank, you really were."

Tank went over to the rolldoor, unlocked it, and rolled it up and away. He went back to get the hoverbike. "You were standing right over there when I met you," he said pointing back down the road. "I wonder what would have happened to you if I hadn't have come along."

She turned to look back at the spot.

He guided the bike into the garage and popped on the light. Jabba the Hutt's sandslider looked magnificent. He found a tarp and spread it over the cargowell so that he wouldn't scratch it and then hoisted the hoverbike into it. As he was unlocking the sandsliders doors, Pia came meekly into the garage.

"What do you want me to say?"

He shrugged his massive shoulders. "'Thank you' would be nice."

She smiled. "Tank Sunber, thank you for saving my life."

He opened the passenger door for her. "You're welcome."

As he walked around to his side, she shouted at him. "Hey, maybe when we stop for my cryo-wrap, maybe you can get us something to drink. You know, hard stuff."

He got into the sandslider. "Maybe. But that's going to cost you more than just a polite 'thank you'. We're talking about . . . a thank-you kiss." He pointed to his cheek, which he held closer to her.

She scooted over to give him a quick peck, but he swung his face around and kissed her full on the lips.

She jumped back, startled and laughing. "Hey, if you want any more of that kind of thing, you're going to first have to get me drunk!"

Tank started up the engine. "Can do."


	5. Echos

Chapter 5: Echoes

Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter had continued cruising east on Grand, had turned right onto Dofos, and when they passed

Baba Qwim's, had turned right again back onto Sunlight Avenue. When the throbbing music echoing out of the school dance drowned out Outrageous Ulala's music on Luke's polyphonic system, Biggs said, "Pull over here."

"There's no place to park."

"Naw, just let me out. I need to write that letter we talked about."

"Here? Now?" But Luke obediently pulled close to some already parked vehicles.

"Yeah, thanks." There was no room to open the door, so Biggs stepped out over it. "We'll rendezvous later, okay Luke?" He squeezed through the narrow space, stepped up on the curb, and walked towards the school.

Biggs stopped outside of the glare of light flooding out of the open doors. Inside he could see high school kids dancing frantically. Just a year ago, he was as innocent and as unsuspecting as these children.

Biggs thought he got a glimpse of Camie, most probably dancing with Fixer. She was just a gleam of beauty and then she was gone. What a ham-handed moron he had been with her. When he had had his one chance, he'd blown it. He'd seen the shock and disgust in her eyes. She may not be in love with Fixer (he was pretty sure of that), but when Biggs had tried fondling her breasts, any chance he'd ever had with her evaporated like a drop of water on hot sheetstone. But why should things be any different with her? Everything he'd ever loved in life, he'd lost.

Biggs walked off into the shadows.

The grounds of the school grounds proper were deserted. His soul could feel the echoes of the previous year: the laughter of his classmates, whispers of who liked whom, moans of having to turn in unfinished homework, hurried plans for Friday night, complaining about teachers, glimpses of tight skirts over cute butts, science projects, dreams of going to the Academy, arguing over last Saturday's game, and did you see last night's show? Now, all blown away like flower spikes in a sandstorm.

He kept going to Miss Loral's room. In Biggs' opinion, she was the best teacher in this whole lousy school. She rarely had a harsh word. She just expected so much from you because, in her eyes, you were far better than you actually were. Biggs had worked as hard as he could to please her, to become the Biggs she saw him as. It was silly, he knew, but by the end of the year, he had learned so much. If he could have only done that in his other classes.

He tried the door, but it was locked. He took out his utility knife, slipped the blade in between the door and door jam, and pushed aside the latch. Biggs pulled the door open and went inside.

A streetlight out on Sunlight Avenue threw the classroom into a matrix of dim light and sharp shadows. Biggs went to his old desk. The stain left by his prank with Camie's lipstick was finally gone. Many of the visuals now adhered to the walls were repeats of last year's. A couple were new. Biggs put his hand palm up on the desk to mimic a piece of papers. Yeah, the room was bright enough to read and write in.

He went to the supply cabinet, got out a sheet of paper and an extra pen, and returned to his desk.

Biggs thought that writing this letter to his parents would be the toughest thing he'd ever done. Instead, it was almost like taking dictation. He just told his parents, quickly and simply, of his experiences with the discussion group, of his illness, of his return to find the group missing, of the drunk girl telling him of their executions, and of his mock maneuvers which turned out to be an actual bombing run. He told them of his decision to leave the Academy. He omitted telling him that he would join the rebels. No sense putting treason down in writing and also putting his parents' lives in jeopardy.

The room was filled with light. "Biggs?"

He shaded his eyes. A plump, pleasant lady was standing at the door, he hand on the light switch. "Oh hi, Miss Loral."

"What are you doing?"

"Last minute homework?" When his joke fell flat, he said, "I needed a quiet place to write a letter. I always felt so safe here in this classroom."

She frowned. "What kind of letter?"

He quickly folded it up. "A private one. Oh, I'm sorry. That sounded rude. I didn't mean it like that."

"Aren't you supposed to be at the Academy?"

"I'm home on a short leave. My mom's been sick."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's nothing, I'm sure. Well, I hope. The letter is to her." He folded it up before Miss Loral got a chance to see it.

"Are things really that bad?"

"No, no! I'm sure I'm just being melodramatic." He stood.

"So Biggs . . . things are okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure Miss Loral."

"Are you up to going to the dance?" she asked going to her own desk." I'm chaperoning, and the girls there badly outnumber the boys. We need reinforcements." She opened up a drawer and took something out.

Biggs shook his head. "No. I was thinking of it, but there's a girl in there, that well, she's dancing with her boyfriend, and she certainly doesn't need me around. It'd be awkward."

"There's other girls, you know."

Biggs shook his head. "Not for me."


	6. Camie

6. Camie

At the school dance, the lead singer was singing: "I hit my best friend in the mouth after lunch. Now I'm in trouble 'cause the dean saw the punch. He was sayin' things that weren't true about her. So I let him have it in the cafeteria. Now I'm stayin' in. Stayin' in. While my baby's walkin' home, with him.**(fn**1**)**"

Aeon Sirocco's palm slid down off the small of Camie's back and into forbidden territory. She reached for his wrist to bring it back up.

Fixer exploded out of nowhere and, like an enraged slamhorn, knocked Aeon aside. Aeon stumbled but then caught himself and squared off, snarling with fists bunched.

"Keep your hands off her!" Fixer bellowed.

Camie shoved Fixer from the side. "You were dancing with Framah! So what's the big deal?"

"You're my girl!"

Chaperones had infiltrated the circle of student, but as long as it was just kids blowing off steam, they hesitated to interfere. No fists were flying, yet.

"You don't own me, Fixer Loneozner! I'll dance with any boy I feel like!"

"His hand was on your ass!"

"Yeah? Well, your head was up yours!"

Fixer took an enraged step towards her, but stopped. What was he going to do? Hit her? He wasn't the type. He suddenly became painfully aware of all the eyes staring at him, Camie and Aeon. There was no good way out of this. Fixer spun on his heel and headed for the door. "I'm going to see if Tank is back yet with the sandslider."

"Why?" shouted Camie after him. "So you can take it out to Jabba's Palace tonight? Everybody knows what you do with those slave girls out there, Fixer Loneozner! Everybody!"

The tops of his ears burned, but he didn't try to deny it. Sure her accusation was a lie, but all the guys would envy him, and most of the girls would be intrigued. Plus the truth was, Fixer had thought about it a lot. But the, uh er, 'rental fee' for one of those girls was more than he could afford. And Jabba would probably blackmail him later. So he kept his hands off them.

He brushed passed Luke Skywalker at the door without seeing him and pressed on into the night.

Luke came in, searching for Biggs. He walked along the side of the gym, looking for his friend's dark hair and morose eyes. He spotted Windy and Deak with two of the homeliest girls ever seen on Tatooine, but no Biggs. Luke walked along another wall to get a different perspective, and then went into the boy's washroom. "Biggs?" he called out. "Biggs?"

When he came back out, he spotted Camie surrounded by some of her girlfriends. She was crying. Luke went over. "Camie, what's wrong?"

"You get out of here, Luke Skywalker," one of the girlfriends snarled.

"No, no, Luke, Luke, Luke!" Her hand snaked out from between her friends, found him and reeled him in. "It's nothing, nothing. Fixer and I just had another one of our stupid fights. I'm glad you're here."

"Yes," said the girlfriend. "But now it's time for you to go." She actually started shoving him away.

But Camie wouldn't release him. "Why does Fixer have to be such a Bantha's butt all the time?"

Luke shrugged. "It what he does."

That got a sobbing-laugh out of Camie and some snickers out of a couple of the girlfriends.

She tightened her grip on him and headed for the door. "Come on, Luke."

"Hey!" protested on of the girls.

"Sometime a girl needs her best friends to talk to," Camie pontificated. "Other times, she needs an neutral third-party. Come, Luke, come on."

* * *

><p>1 I borrowed the opening lyrics of "Stayin' In" from an old song out of the 60's.<p> 


	7. Pia

7. Pia

Tank and Pia cruised back into town in Jabba the Hutt's sandslider. The warbling Hutt music which played on the polyphonic system was incredibly annoying, but neither of them had the courage to touch one of Jabba's settings.

When they got to Baba Qwim's, Tank turned right onto Dofos and fought his way through traffic until he reached a shop that he knew. He pulled over to the curb. "How's your ankle?"  
>"It's throbbing a bit, but it's okay."<p>

"Stay here. I'll be right back." He had to wait until there was a break in kids doin' the delta, then opened his door, got out, and went over and into the shop.

Pia watched him go and asked herself just what the heck she thought she was doing. She had a boyfriend, a wonderful guy who was studious and dependable and who didn't get drunk and hang out with his buddies, talking sports. He was a focused guy who was going places, and until this evening, she'd fully intended to hitch her wagon to his rising star. Maybe she still did.

But tonight, she'd met this big lug. He obviously wasn't too bright, but he was a big as a mountain and gentle as a good night kiss. He had fearlessly put his unarmed self between her and the two Tusken raiders who were intent on killing her. He was nothing less than a hero. And, so attentive. He'd opened the car door for her. He treated her like a princess. Not one of those golden princesses, oh no, because he was more than willing to buy her some hard stuff, and she was sure that, before the evening was over, she'd have more than a few of his fingerprints on her. But a dark and evil princesses, the kind of girl she'd always dreamed over being. He was opening forbidden doors for her, doors that led to pathways she knew she should stay away from.

Pia licked her lips in anticipation of his return. She wondered what the two guys in the shop were saying to each other.

"Evening, Tank," the shopkeeper had said when the big guy had walked in through the front door. "How's life at the Academy?"

"I wouldn't know, Buzz. I didn't get in. I've just been workin' on my parents' farm and waiting to hear back from the army."

"Oh man, I was sure you'd get in. Too bad, but it's the Empire's loss. What can I get you?"

The shop had just about everything. "A pair of cryo-wraps to start with and, let's see . . ." Tank looked around. "Let me have some jerky, some sweet dibs, one of those Tatooine souvenir buttons, an air freshener, an auxiliary memory panel, and oh yeah, a bottle of Babe's."

Buzz was dropping the items into a bag. "I'll need to see an I.D. for the liquor."

"You've sold to me before."

"I only got two points left on my license. I can't afford another hit."

"There's nobody around."

"There wasn't the last time I got caught either." Buzz fixed a cold eye on him.

"Just the cryo-wraps then."

"Why do you play me like that, Tank? I thought we were friends."

The big guy squirmed. "I got me this girl out in the car."

"You got a car?"

"It's, it's. . . I'm just bringing it to Fixer. But she wants some hard stuff, y'know? What kind of bum am I if I can't get it for her?"

Buzz shot a glance out the filthy window. "Not the supernova in the sandslider?"

Tank frowned. Pia was cute, but she was no supernova. "Yeah, that's her."

Buzz sighed and glanced around as if he could spot one of those new droid fleas. "Two hundred trugats for the cryp-wraps and the Babe's," he mumbled conspiratorially.

Tank nodded. It would about clean out his pockets, but that was okay. "Sure, thanks." He paid for the items, and left before Buzz could change his mind.

Pia waited in anticipation. "D'ja get it?" When he handed her the bag, she stuck her nose in. "All right!"

Tank was starting to sweat. How far would this girl let him get? She'd asked for liquor; he'd gotten her liquor; but that was no guarantee of anything. He knew just the place he should take her.

His comm link chimed.

"Yeah?"

"Where in all the cosmos are you?"

"Oh, hi Fixer. What'd mean?"

"The car."

"Car?"

"You didn't get Jabba the Hutt's car? Where are you?"

"Oh that. Yeah, I'm in it now. Where do you want to meet?"

"Where we said before: Baba Qwim's. I thought you'd be here by now."

"Well, there was a problem—"

"Is the car all right!"

"Don't worry. The sandslider's fine. I'll be there in less than five." He started it up. "Sorry Pia, my buddy's waiting for me." He pulled into traffic, made a right and then another right, circling him back to Route 2. He made a final right and drove up to the Y-shaped intersection, where he pulled into Baba Qwim's parking lot.

Fixer was pacing outside. "Who's she?"

"It's okay," said Tanks as he pulled into a parking place. "We got attacked by some sandpeople, and she got a little beat up is all."

"Did they hurt the car?"

Tank said very quietly, "She and I are fine. Thank you for your concern. And the sandslider doesn't have a scratch on it. Take a look if you don't believe me."

Fixer orbited the car, looking for the slightest imperfection. He pulled his hover bike out of the back and pulled off the tarp. In cargowell was okay too. "Sorry Tank," he said when his inspection was complete, "but it belongs to Jabba, and he's not known to be forgiving."

Tank took him aside. "Can I borrow another fifty trugats from you?"

"Fifty more? What for?"

"She hasn't had anything to eat. I should buy her dinner."

Fixer took the keys from Tank. "Tok's throwing a party at his place. There's bound to be plenty of food there." He climbed into the sandslider and backed it up. "I need to get this out to Jabba's before he starts getting angry."


	8. Tok's

Chapter 8: Tok's

Biggs had wandered off the school grounds and was strolling in the general direction of the party at Tok's. Tatooine's two suns had long since set, and the entire galaxy of stars was now out, shining with all its brilliance.

Each star represented a different fate Biggs could have followed. Why had he decided to go to the Imperial Academy? He could have instead studied xero-agriculture or xeno-biology or nano-tech. He could have shipped out on a tramp starfreighter or could have gotten a steward's job on a starliner. He could have chosen to say on planet and started his own little art gallery or climbed into the highlands in search of one of the fabled lost cities up there.

A billion, a trillion choices had lain before him, but yet he had chosen the one which would lead him into conflict with the Empire. Now, he was lying to his parents to protect them from the Emperor's wrath, and in a few hours, he'd be lifting off, turning his coat and joining the rebellion.

Would he live or die? He didn't know.

A blast of dry wind swept up the street, churning up eye-biting sand. Biggs turned his back until it passed.

The chances of the rebellion succeeding were slim, but he knew in his heart of hearts that he had to make up for the bombing run. Innocent lives had been ended. It had been he who'd pushed the button. He had to try and make that right. He couldn't breathe life back into the bodies of the slain, but he could punish those evil-doers who had given the order to kill them.

In the distance, he could see the lights of Tok's house glittering faintly through the ever-floating dust. He could just barely hear the oh-too-sexy voice of Outrageous Ulala, but couldn't make out what she was saying. He drifted in that direction and towards pounding music that reached out to him.

When he entered the house, it was like stepping back a year in time. Most of the laughing faces he knew, faces flushed with alcohol or pale from lack of sleep. Everyone was shouting to make their voices heard over the crashing music. The house reeked of spilled drinks and inexpensive perfume.

He picked his way through the press of the crowd. Across the room, he glimpsed Reka Windwhisper wearing a very sheer blouse with nothing on beneath it. She and Nack must have broken up.

Biggs grabbed Tok. "Hey buddy, have you seen Xanxan?"

Tok shook his head. "She said she'd be here, but so far, no show. How long you back for?"

"Just tonight," answered Biggs, maintaining the lie. "My mom's sick, so they gave me a short leave."

"Sorry to hear that, but glad you could make it. Can I get you are drink?"

"No thanks. I know the way."

Biggs headed over for the keg and filled a large paper cup. Then he wound his way into the backyard. Two guys with their shirts off were whacking a hoverball back and forth. Biggs found an empty stool and waited his turn.

As Biggs waited, the voice of Outrageous Ulala came murmuring out of the darkness, making promises of primordial lust. She was telling sweet tales of lies, of course. Before him, kids played pointless games in the halcyon days of their youth, those innocent days before they discovered what atrocities awaited them as grownups. A youth woven from nothing but lies. And if they were gullible enough to join the military, they'd be force fed lies by the cargo skiff. Was there any Truth left in the galaxy, or was life just layers upon layers of laminated lies?

Biggs took another pull on his brew and glanced at the front door to see if Xanxan had arrived yet.

He saw Tank arrive with a girl who walked with a slight limp. She was pretty, which was strange for Tank. Usually, his women were on the homely side.

Biggs got up and wove his way back into the house. He had to look around when he got to the entry, but he soon spotted Tanks and the girl in the living room, dancing. Tank dancing? Another precedent broken.

He made his way over to them. "Hey Tank! Surprise!"

"Biggs! What are you doing here? Pia, this is my good friend Biggs. Biggs, Pia."

Biggs keep up the lie he'd been telling all evening. "Ah, my mom's sick, and so I got an emergency leave from the Academy."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Your mom is a really great lady. Biggs, tell Pia she shouldn't be dancing on her injured ankle and should let me get her something to eat instead."

"Pia," said Biggs, "You shouldn't be dancing on your injured ankle, but you should let Tank get you something to eat instead."

"I'm keeping all my weight on my good ankle," she replied. "And I'm not at all hungry. Besides, I've gotta dance."

"She's gotta dance," Biggs informed Tank. "Hey, have you seen Xanxan?"

The big guy shook his head. "Not for the last month or so. Someone told me she'd moved away."

"Naw, I saw her doin' the delta earlier. If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her, okay?"

"Sure. No problem."


	9. Mirage Lake

Chapter 9: Mirage Lake

Camie had Luke walk her to his landspeeder, and she got in. "Drive," she told him. He obeyed. As they drove, she gave occasional directions, and they ended up parked by Mirage Lake.

The sky was filled with more stars than the imagination could grasp. The normally-dry lake had water in it, and billions of stars glittered off its surface as well.

"What's to become of us, Luke?" she asked hollowly. "Not just Fixer and me, but of all of us? You, Tank, and even Biggs? Where are we all going?"

"Our separate ways, I guess," replied Luke. That's what usually happens after graduation. Biggs is already off to the Academy. I want to go there too, or at least get off of this planet as soon as my uncle will let me. Tank has applied to the Imperial Army. Fixer, I dunno, he seems to be happy here. What about you?"

Camie shook her head.

She got out of the speeder and stood looking at the lake. Then, as if in a dream, she began taking off her clothes and hanging them on the speeder door. When she was naked, she ran and splashed her way into the water.

Luke was still behind the wheel, wondering what he should do. He's was even wondering if what he was seeing was really happening. How often do pretty girls just suddenly strip naked in front of a guy . . . without even being asked?

Luke got out of the speeder and, after glancing around to make sure they were alone, took his clothes off too. He went to the shore more hesitantly than she had, wondering what she would do when she realized he'd followed her. We waded in to his mid-thighs and then dove in.

When he surfaced, he saw her swimming gently along on her back, her small breasts cutting through the surface like twin dorsal fins.

She looked over at him to see that, now with his clothes off, his farm-boy muscles bulged with latent power. She couldn't help grinning. "Luke, you look like you've never seen a girl naked before," she teased.

"Do you do this often?"

"I can't do this often because the lake's usually dry, but I like the freedom of being naked." She looked up at the starry skies. "Do you ever hope there are one or more gods up there, looking down on us?"

"Not at the moment, no."

She laughed. "Well, I hope there are. I hope they're getting an eyeful of us right now. I think this would make them happy."

His feet found the sandy bottom and he bounced his way over to her. "You're right," he admitted. "I never have seen a girl naked before. Me and girls, I dunno, we just don't get along."

She looked at him amazed, and then raised her face to the heavens and bellowed, "LUKE SKYWALKER, YOU ARE THE BIGGEST IDIOT IN THE GALAXY!"

He bounced slowly up and down on the bottom of the lake.

"Don't you know that every girl in school was secretly in love with you? If you'd ever had the sense to do this . . ." she crooked her little finger, "you'd have more girls dripping off of you than you'd know what do with."

"Yeah, well . . ."

"Yeah. Well." She submerged and swam rapidly away from him. After a while, she surfaced and looked around,

Luke asked her, "What are we doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you and I splashing around naked?"

Camie grinned. "Because it's fun. Don't you ever do anything just because it's fun?"

"Not usually, no."

"Luke Skywalker, what am I going to do with you?"

"Kiss me," he suggested.

That stopped her. After a moment she said, "Okay, you can kiss me. But nothing more! No caressing, no fondling, no . . . no nothing. Just a kiss."

He bounced over to her, took her in his arms, and kissed her. It was a long, slow, gentle kiss. It ended when she peeled his hand off her breast and shoved it away.

"There's a party at Tok's," she growled. "We should go there." She turned and churned her way through the water back to the shore.

He came after her. "Camie, Camie, I'm sorry."

She snapped around. "Sorry? Sorry for what? There's nothing to be sorry for. Nothing happened. So you copped a feel? Guess what? I'm not going to die because of it. Come now, let's get to the party."

She waded out of the water and went up the beach to the speeder. She began pulling her clothing off the speeder door and putting them back on.

He went to his side of the speeder. "Camie, I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for!" The words had come out louder than she meant them to. She could have sworn she heard them echo off the nearby cliff faces. _There is nothing to be sorry for._


	10. Dawn On Tatooine

Chapter 10: Dawn on Tatooine

"So if you're hesitating about grabbing that certain someone," purred Outrageous Ulala, "think about this: You have one brain which is telling you to keep your hands off, but you have two hands for doing the grabbing. I think you should take a vote. And when the votes are tabulated, There's Gonna be Some Hot Lovin' Tonight."

"Girl, you're looking so pretty," sang the next song, "If I don't do nothin', it'll be a flat-out pity. I know that it's wrong, but you lookin' so right. Look out girl, there's gonna be some hot lovin', hot lovin', hot lovin' tonight!"

Biggs was getting grumpy. He'd hoped to see Xanxan one last time before he had to leave, but it was getting later and later, and she still hadn't put in an appearance.

Windy and Deak showed up, looking smug but without their dates. The two of them immediately headed for the keg.

Tank came in from the living room, helping Pia who was by now limping badly. He was trying hard not to say _I told you so_ and he was wishing he had some extra trugats so he could begin a collection to buy another couple of kegs. This last one was dying fast.

The big guy looked and spotted Biggs, and so he parked Pia in a chair, lumbered over and asked, "Hey Biggs, I'm flat broke, and this last key is getting awfully dry. Do you think you could kick in some trugats so we can buy some more?"

Without even thinking about it, Biggs shot over a pair of hundreds like it was nothing.

"Thanks a lot." Now, with the two bills showing in his hand, Tank could make the rounds and collect still more.

"Hey Camie," Biggs heard a girl say. "Where's Fixer?"

He turned around to see Camie replying, "Oh, he had to make a deliver tonight. He won't be back until late. You know Luke Skywalker, don't you?"

"Sure, we were in a math class together last year. Hey, Luke."

The blond boy nodded.

Windy and Deak came in from the backyard, sipping on their paper cups.

Camie asked them, "So, didja have a good time?"

They giggled. "Did we ever," snickered Deak.

Windy nodded.

"What?"

Windy whispered, "Scored!"

"Oh, you two didn't!"

"Camie, we owe you big time! Thanks, woman."

"You," she stammered, "you did use protection, didn't you?"

Windy shook his head. "Never do," he preened. Deak was also shaking his head.

"So in nine months, one or both of you might be a father."

They both went pale and got very quiet.

۞

It was almost dawn as Luke and Biggs drove across the wide open desert between Anchorhead and Mos Eisley. Biggs reached into his tunic, took out the letter and handed it to Luke. "Once my ship has made the jump to hyperspace, give this to my parents, okay?"

Luke put the letter away. "Sure."

"So what are your plans for the future, Luke?"

"I dunno. I have to get off this planet, Biggs, or I'm going to go crazy. I'm still thinking about the Academy."

"Even after what happened to me? Luke - - "

"Look, I've been working on this. I wanna be a pilot, right? We both do. But who wants to steer one of the gigantic star destroyers? I'm thinking about specializing in gunships. That way I won't come up against rebels, just smugglers."

"But it's the smugglers who bring in the ammunition and supplies for the rebels."

"Well, yeah. Then I don't know. I have to get out of here. That's my bottom line."

"Sign up for a civilian ship: a cargo vessel or a passenger liner. Get out of there that way."

"Me and every other kid on this planet. There're a thousand applicants for every empty slot."

"Luke . . !"

"Look, I heard what you said. I'm thinking hard about it. I'm not going to do anything that will hurt the rebellion or put myself into harm's way. I promise."

Biggs reached over and grabbed his hand. "I fear for you if you go to the Academy, Luke. I really do."

The blood in Luke's veins suddenly ran cold. Something told him with a dreadful certainly that Biggs Darklighter wasn't long for this galaxy. If he joined the rebellion, he'd die. If he stayed here on Tatooine, he'd die. If he tried to run, he'd die. All possible paths led to his grave. What was this weird feeling? He'd never felt anything like this before.

Biggs was looking hard at him. "You be careful Luke Skywalker. You hear me?"

Luke responded. "You too, Biggs." He was trembling.

Biggs let go of his hand and pointed to the sky about him. "Look at that, will ya?"

The first starship of the morning was blasting off from Mos Eisley. She had one of those simple hydro-oxygen chem-engines, and so a trail of exhaust steam tracked her path. The ship rose up in the pre-dawn darkness, but then she climbed out of the planet's shadow. Sunlight refracted through the steam, turning it into a rainbow of colors. Then the high winds caught the steam-rainbow and twisted it into a colorful, whirly ribbon.

Biggs smiled. "Beautiful! That's a good omen, if ever there were one, right?" He winked at Luke.

Luke Skywalker kept driving. He couldn't stop trembling.

**Post Script:**

**Luke Skywalker** escaped Tatooine with the legendary

Obi-Wan Kenobi, and later Luke was instrumental

in resurrecting the Jedi Knights.

**Tank Sunber **joined the Imperial Army and suffered severe

burns during the assault on Hoth. He spent most

of the war in a rehabilitation center.

After the overthrow of the Emperor,

Tank settled on Bespin,

where he works on

a loading dock.

**Biggs Darklighter** was killed during the attack on the

first Death Star during the Battle of Yavin.

**Fixer Loneozner** married his high school sweetheart Camie.

They moved to Mos Eisley, where he repairs starships,

and she teaches elementary school. They

have three girls and a boy.

THE END


End file.
